‘House of Hunger’, Slam for Peace, Justice & Poetry

This Saturday 5 July from 2-5pm, the House of Hunger Poetry Slam at Book Café brings together poets from Harare and beyond in another exciting slam event, this month joining the World Poetry Movement, and putting Harare, Zimbabwe firmly on the poetry map of our planet, with a strong shout-out for Peace and Freedom of Expression.
The monthly performance poetry platform consistently offers over 20 poets each month, who ‘slam’ and are judged by a panel of their peers based on their content and performance, producing some amazing new talent each month, and supported by many established poets who have gained huge experience and exposure from the use of the platform, and even some who have supported the platform over the years. The pace if fast and furious, and the interaction is lively!

The poet “So Profound” at House of Hunger Poetry Slam, Jan 2014

The House of Hunger Poetry Slam is named after the prizewinning novel by the late great Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera, and has become a great platform for freedom of expression in a generation of Zimbabweans who have seen many hardships.

A Planet Free Of Wars. For Peace, Justice and Poetry

Hundreds of millions of people have died over 60 centuries of civilization due to the brutal hand of war. Living today with 30 wars and extreme regional political tensions, we can barely hope for a world of peace.
The World Poetry Movement believes it is possible to replace our worn out human history, directionless and aimless, with higher, more just forms of existence, defusing wars and political conflicts through dialogue and agreement.

The World Poetry Movement is a historic conjunction of organizations, founded in the context of the World Gathering of Directors from 37 International Poetry Festivals, held in Medellin, Colombia, between July 4-8th, 2011, where they discussed the connection between poetry and peace, the reconstruction of the human spirit, the reconciliation and recovery of nature, the unity and cultural diversity of peoples, material poverty and poetic justice, and possible actions to take in favor of the globalization of poetry. One of the goals is to include most of the strongest international poetry festivals, poets, schools of poetry and printed and virtual publications, to increase our mutual cooperation and thus energize the individual and collective voice of poetry in our time.

Fernando Rendon of the Coordinating Committee of the World Poetry Movement said “We invite the international poetry festivals, the poetry organizations, the poets gathered around poetry publications, workshops and schools; musicians, artists, actors, filmmakers, dancers and painters, and the organizations and poets that are members of the World Poetry Movement, to celebrate, from July 1st to July 30th, 2014, thousands of mass poetry readings and interventions, in open and closed public spaces, to create a path of unity for the world’s spiritual energy.”

Zimbabwe’s internationally acclaimed performing artists, the late mbira star Chiwoniso Maraire and renowned poet Chirikure Chirikure performed at the launch in Medellin in 2011, and protest poet and cultural activist Sam Monro a.k.a. Cde Fatso who was elected to the Coordinating Committee of the World Poetry Movement, attended this year.

For 2014, more than 446 readings and other poetic and artistic activities for global peace have been confirmed to be held during the month of July in 44 countries from four continents, answering the call of the Coordinating Committee of the World Poetry Movement.

In Harare on Saturday 5 July, poets in the House of Hunger Poetry Slam step up to the plate, dedicating this particular slam to the cause for peace in the world, in what promises to be a highly entertaining afternoon of rhythm and rhyme.

This event is part of the continental initiative by Artwatch Africa, an Arterial Network programme which aims to raise awareness around freedom of creative expression in Africa. Pamberi Trust’s administration manager Pamela Ndoro was recently appointed as the Artwatch Coordinator for Zimbabwe.

Long-running development programmes by Pamberi Trust for poetry, youth and gender are supported in part by Africalia, Hivos and the EU.